The project analyzes women rappers in Finland and the role and meaning of feminism, gender, race, and whiteness in the construction of artist identities and artistic expression. The project produces knowledge about how women rappers use feminism to create space for themselves in a heterosexist, male-dominated hip hop genre, and how white women and women of color navigate differing racial and gender norms in Finnish and international hip hop. More generally, the project illuminates the connection between two current global phenomena: a wave of feminist rap and increased public discussion on equality, feminism, and antiracism. Research data consist of music and music videos, participant observation at concerts, and artist interviews. The interdisciplinary project relies on hip hop feminist theory, critical race and whiteness studies, gender studies, audiovisual popular music studies, ethnography, and discourse analysis.

2021

2024